The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

Figure 3.2.1. Major sea surface
currents in the northern Atlantic.
depressions develop and pass near the southern tip of Greenland and frequently
cause very strong winds off West Greenland. Also more local phenomena
such as fog or polar lows are common features near the West Greenland
shores. The probability of strong winds increases close to the Greenland
coast and towards the Atlantic Ocean. Detailed descriptions of local wind
patterns can be found in the sensitivity atlas of the West Greenland region
prepared by NERI (Mosbech et al. 2004b).
3.2 Oceanography
3.2.1 Currents
Along West Greenland the West Greenland Current flows with two principal
components. Closest to the shore the surface layer (0-150 m) from the
East Greenland Current (with cold Polar Sea water) moves northward. On
its way, this water is diluted by run-off water from the various fjord systems,
e.g. Godthåbsfjorden (Kangersuneq). The other component (depth layer
of 150-800 m) is from the North Atlantic Current deriving from the
Irminger Sea. This relatively warm and salty water can be traced all the way
along West Greenland from Cape Farewell to Thule/Qaanaaq (Fig. 3.2.1).
70°N
60°N
50°N
Labrador Current
West Greenland Current
East Greenland Current
East Greenland Current
Irminger Current
60°W 50°W 40°W
30°W
Greenland Sea
Gyre
Currents
Cold water
Norwegian Atlantic Current
Mixed water
Warm water
20°W
70°N
60°N
Assessment area
0 250 500 Km
50°N
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